Study links Latino assimilation, drinking while pregnant

Updated 10:03 pm, Sunday, November 13, 2011

Yvonne Gaines, with her son, David, 8, adopted three siblings born with symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the U.S.

Yvonne Gaines, with her son, David, 8, adopted three siblings born with symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the U.S.

Photo: LISA KRANTZ

Study links Latino assimilation, drinking while pregnant

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO - Hispanic women who have been in the U.S. longer are more likely to drink during pregnancy than those who haven't lived here as long or assimilated as much, according to interviews conducted through a health department program.

"Drinking alcohol can be devastating to the developing fetus. It causes structural and functional changes in the brain," said Dr. Ira J. Chasnoff, a Chicago pediatrician with the Children's Research Triangle who conducted screenings over the past year in San Antonio and at more than 100 sites across the nation. He also helped develop the questionnaire that was used to gauge the women's drinking habits.

Pregnant Hispanic women in San Antonio had the second-highest drinking rate of 29 cities in the six states where women in that specific demographic were screened, Chasnoff said. Reno, Nev., ranked No. 1. The pool included more than 70,000 women.

Almost 400 pregnant women in San Antonio were screened, 70 percent of them Hispanic, and all clients of the Healthy Start program at the Metro health department. About 25 percent of all the women were using a substance that hurts the developing fetal brain - alcohol being the chief culprit.

Hispanic women in the local screening program who were determined to be more assimilated to American culture were more likely to drink during pregnancy - sometimes three times as much.

Related Stories

It's estimated that 40,000 babies nationwide are born each year with some type of disorder linked to prenatal alcohol use, but the true number is elusive because of diagnostic difficulties. Still, it's estimated that prenatal drinking costs the nation $6 billion a year and affects more children than juvenile diabetes, Down syndrome and childhood cancers combined.

The most serious disorder is fetal alcohol syndrome, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the U.S.

In addition to cognitive disabilities, children with FAS have malformed facial features - small heads, small, widely spaced eyes, a thin upper lip and flat area below the nose - stunted or delayed growth, and a host of behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity.

But about three times as many children will be affected by what's known as alcohol-related neuro-developmental disorder - a less obvious but still serious form of brain damage from prenatal drinking that's marked by behavioral and learning disabilities and can occur in children who look normal and have normal IQs, Chasnoff said.

Later in life

Often, these children are misdiagnosed as having attention-deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder or other conditions, he said.

"They can cause huge problems in the classroom," said Chasnoff, who blames widespread misdiagnoses on a lack of training and education among doctors and other professionals.

One Seattle study found about 60 percent of children with prenatal alcohol-related disorders become caught up in the court system as adults - not surprising, given the issue such children often have with impulsivity, poor decision-making, aggression and other behavioral problems, Chasnoff said.

Last year, a convicted murderer with documented fetal alcohol syndrome was executed in Arizona, despite a written plea from the judge who presided over his trial stating that if she'd known of his diagnosis she wouldn't have sentenced him to death.

Unanswered question

Why do assimilated Hispanic women drink more during pregnancy? Chasnoff will soon launch a study in several states in an attempt to answer that question. But he has a working theory.

"One issue that comes up is the very U.S. idea of empowerment," he said by phone. "Many Hispanic families are driving their children on to more education, more success - all the good stuff. But we found in focus groups that as young (Hispanic) women become more empowered, the family becomes less of an influence on their behaviors. They lose touch with their background and move out into general society, where drinking is much more acceptable."

The problem lies in larger American culture, he said, where drinking is considered part of the normal socialization process, often starting in high school.

Many women consume alcohol before they know they're pregnant - a reason many health experts advise women to give it up when trying to conceive.

Some studies show drinking early in pregnancy and especially binge drinking - for women, four or more drinks in one setting - can be particularly destructive.